Processing systems which include memories and processors oftentimes experience failures. Sometimes these failures are so-called hard errors, from which no recovery is possible. Thereafter the device that has caused the hard error is replaced. On the other hand, oftentimes failures are repeatable or so-called soft errors, which occur intermittently and randomly. Often these soft errors are repeatable and are localized to a particular processor within the processing system. These soft errors therefore cause multiple processing system failures.
However, it is frequently difficult to obtain and maintain information in existing conventional systems about the processor soft errors. Also, in conventional processing systems, a processor with intermittent errors is typically not deallocated from the system. Clearly, what is needed is a system for determining the cause of a repeatable or soft error and a system and method for deallocating the particular processor associated with the soft error. The system must be easy to implement and cost effective, and should be easily implemented in existing systems. The present invention addresses such a need.